Mechanical Stresses Affecting Deep Borehole Disposal of High Level Nuclear Waste

Author(s):  
Ethan A. Bates ◽  
Jacopo Buongiorno ◽  
Emilio Baglietto ◽  
Michael J. Driscoll

While extensive stress field data are available from crystalline rock boreholes drilled in France (Soultz), Germany (KTB), and the USA (Cajon Pass, Monticello Reservoir), Canada and Sweden, the data and methods used to analyze them have yet to be applied to very deep geologic disposal facilities. Typically, to alleviate the stress fields that are intensified in a borehole, muds (mixtures of clay and water) are a critical component and are widely used in the drilling industry. In the first portion of this paper, we review the available mechanical data and analysis methods. Based on the most applicable measurements (in Canada and Germany), we propose values of stress fields and rock properties to be used for generic assessment of deep borehole disposal. The minimum horizontal stress can be approximated as Sh=23.2D, the maximum horizontal stress as SH=43.1D, and the vertical stress as SV=27.5D, where the stresses are in MPa and D is depth in km. This analysis also incorporates the effect of thermal stresses (relieved) by the cool drilling mud. Using an average uniaxial compressive strength results (C=212 MPa) and conservatively neglecting the increase in strength of crystalline rock under polyaxial conditions, a stable borehole can be drilled to 4.55 km with mud density of 1020 kg/m3. This is based on a stability limit such that at the bottom of the hole, a significant portion of the wall (180°/360°) reaches a critical state of stress (i.e., experiences spalling). Using relations developed for shallow mines (which may be overly conservative) the spalled zone is estimated to have a radius that is approximately twice that of the borehole. To reach 5 km, the mud density should be raised to 1420 kg/m3, or be actively cooled (90°C) below the ambient temperature of the rock (∼135°C) at that depth.

2011 ◽  
Vol 704-705 ◽  
pp. 302-307
Author(s):  
Lei Xu ◽  
Guang Ze Dai ◽  
Xing Ming Huang ◽  
Jing Han ◽  
Jun Wen Zhao

Numerical simulation of connecting rod die forging processing was performed by finite element method (FEM) software Deform 3D. The changes of the temperature fields, stress fields of the billet and dies, and upper setting force-stroke curve during the die forging were obtained. The simulation results show that (1) the increase of the fillet radius of dies could effectively reduce the stress concentration so that to prevent the die crack arising at high level stress; (2) the optimum parameters of die forging process are 430°C for forging temperature, 200°C for preheat temperature of dies and 80mm/s for reduction rate by comparing both fields of the stress and temperature during different forging process..


2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (Special Issue) ◽  
pp. S43-S48 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Polák ◽  
J. Kumar ◽  
B. Krška ◽  
M. Ravelonandro

Commercialisation of Biotech/GM (Biotech) crops started in 1995. Not only field crops, but also horticultural transgenic crops are under development and are beginning to be commercialised. Genetic engineering has the potential to revolutionise fruit tree breeding. The development of transgenic fruit cultivars is in progress. Over the past 20 years an international public sector research team has collaborated in the development of HoneySweet plum which is highly resistant to Plum pox virus (PPV) the most devastating disease of plums and other stone fruits. HoneySweet was deregulated in the USA in 2010. HoneySweet (aka C5) has been evaluated for eleven years (2002–2012) in a regulated field trial in the CzechRepublic for the resistance to PPV, Prune dwarf virus (PDV), and Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), all of them being serious diseases of plum. Even under the high and permanent infection pressure produced through grafting, PPV has only been detected in HoneySweet trees in several leaves and fruits situated close to the point of inoculum grafting. The lack of infection spread in HoneySweet demonstrates its high level of PPV resistance. Co-infections of PPV with PDV and/or ACLSV had practically no influence on the quantity and quality of HoneySweet fruit which are large, sweet, and of a high eating quality. In many respects, they are superior to the fruits of the well-known cultivar Stanley. Many fruit growers and fruit tree nurseries in the CzechRepublic are supportive of the deregulation of HoneySweet plum to help improve the plum production and control the spread of PPV.


Author(s):  
V. Sautkina

The following article is devoted to the study of current state of national education and healthcare systems. The cost of services in these areas constantly increases, there for even developed countries are forced to make significant efforts in order to maintain earlier achieved results. Due to this reason countries entered into the period of constant reforms with the purpose of maintaining that high level of health and educational services for all segments of population with a constant reduction of its volume of financing. The legal aspects of these changes are requiring manifestation of the will of politicians in order to overcome the opposition of parties which are defending their interests. As an example, the main opponents of the healthcare reforms proposed by Barak Obama in the USA are Republicans who are concerned about a significant increase of a state control over the entire national insurance system. The author comes to the conclusion that only joint actions of the government and every segment of population might actually improve the quality of medical and educational services.


2017 ◽  
Vol 113 (11/12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xolani Makhoba ◽  
Anastassios Pouris

Nanotechnology is a fast-growing scientific research area internationally and is classified as an important emerging research area. In response to this importance, South African researchers and institutions have also increased their efforts in this area. A bibliometric study of articles as indexed in the Web of Science considered the development in this field with respect to the growth in literature, collaboration profile and the research areas that are more within the country’s context. We also looked at public institutions that are more active in this arena, including government policy considerations as guided by the National Nanotechnology Strategy launched in 2005. We found that the number of nanotechnology publications have shown a remarkable growth ever since the launch of the strategy. Articles on nanotechnology have been published in numerous journals, with Electrochimica Acta publishing the most, followed by Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. These publications fall within the traditional domains of chemistry and physics. In terms of the institutional profile and based on publication outputs over the period reviewed, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is a leading producer of publications in nanotechnology, followed by the University of the Witwatersrand – institutions that are both based in the Gauteng Province. There is a high level of international collaboration with different countries within this field – the most productive collaboration is with India, followed by the USA and China, as measured through co-authorship.


Author(s):  
Wayne Strasser

Past work involving validated “cold-flow” CFD modeling of self-generating and self-sustaining pulsating transonic non-Newtonian slurry atomization elucidated acoustic signatures, atomization mechanisms, and the effects of numerics and geometric permutations. The numerical method has now been incorporated with exothermic oxidation reaction kinetics relations along with radiation, i.e. no longer cold-flow. These models provide substantially increased model rigor and allow for new pulsing thermal measures which help assess injector thermal stresses. Twelve models have been run for extended periods of time in order to assess the effects of dramatic changes in gas feed rate and prefilming (retraction) length. Given the new metrics and models, multiple statistically optimized designs are potentially available depending on the objective function(s) and their relative weightings in the overall value proposition to the project. In the case in which all metrics have equal value to the project and are simultaneously considered in a statistical model, the optimum design involves a mid-level of retraction and a mid-level gas feed rate. If, however, more relative weighting is placed on the importance of droplet size minimization and injector thermal management in lieu of feed passage pressure drop minimization, the optimum design involves a similar retraction but a very high level of gas feed rate.


2020 ◽  
pp. 20-24
Author(s):  
Nataliia MYROSHCHENKO ◽  
Anastasiia SYMAK ◽  
Oksana ZARYTSKA

Introduction. In modern highly competitive, dynamic and unstable conditions enterprises are able to function successfully in the marketplace and occupy leadership positions in large part due to developing, implementation and realisation of innovations. A high level of an innovative activity of enterprises creates preconditions for forming new competitive benefits, an increase of investment attractiveness, broadens possibilities of passage to new marketplaces, is an impulse for providing a progressive development. As practice shows, only a small part of innovations transforms in goods and services and is successfully commercialized due to its promotion in interested groups of consumers. That's why the problem of commercialization of innovative goods and services should be in field of view of society, government, private business, scientists because decision of this problem improves a competitive ability of goods and finely a level of population's life. The purpose of paper is an exploration of commercialization properties of innovative goods and services in foreign countries, detection of reasons of low level of commercialization of innovative goods and services by domestic enterprises. Results. It is considered a domestic and a worldwide experience of commercialization of high-tech goods and services of industrial enterprises in the context of Asian, American and European models of innovative development. It is particularly set that there in the USA, Europe and Asia the key role in development and implementation of high-tech goods and services play multinational companies, which quite often create venture companies in their structures. Besides, it is set that a venture capital is often concentrated in science parks, technopoles, business incubators and other innovative structures. It is proved that in the process of commercialization of high-tech goods and services is a governmental support of state, first of all, from positions of longevity of preferences, which are offered to subjects of innovative structures. It's also set that such kind of commercialization is successful when local properties of demand for new goods and services are taken into account. Regarding a domestic experience of commercialization of innovative goods and services, they should state that it has a quite low development. Conclusion. In this way, generalisation of domestic and foreign experience of commercialization of innovative goods and services shows that directions and ways of such commercialization are different and can have a different shape that is defined by local historical circumstances, traditions and national innovative politics in general.


2019 ◽  
pp. 11-24
Author(s):  
Vakhtang Maisaia ◽  
Koba Kobaladze

Since 1990 after bipolar system demolition and setting up new world order with liberal international order with American leadership endorsement lasted till 2014, the Eurasian space became one of the hottest spots in the world. Considering situational changes in the international security system with diminishing the global hegemony of the USA in case of confrontation with Russia and China, Eurasia has been increasing its geopolitical relevance to international politics. Several implications on endorsing new “Eurasian” alliances (Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Collective Security Treaty Organization, Eurasian Union, etc.) with primarily involvement of the countries of Post-Soviet space and China, directed against to NATO policy of enlargement could have created a rim of instability with “flexing mussels” between three nuclear powers – the USA, Russian Federation and People's Republic of China (PRC). Tripolarity agenda confirmed by the international security high-level expert community, incoming world order is shaping up in the classical balance of power game of international relations. Hence, the China-Russia alliance and strategic cooperation wrenched in the area really play an important role in fostering process at any level of the political spectrum: local, regional and certainly global.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wioleta Kucharska

Purpose This study aims to understand and compare how the mechanism of innovative processes in the information technology (IT) industry – the most innovative industry worldwide – is shaped in Poland and the USA in terms of tacit knowledge awareness and sharing driven by a culture of knowledge and learning, composed of a learning climate and mistake acceptance. Design/methodology/approach Study samples were drawn from the IT industry in Poland (n = 350) and the USA (n = 370) and analyzed using the structural equation modeling method. Findings True learning derives from mistake acceptance. As a result of a risk-taking attitude and critical thinking, the IT industry in the USA is consistently innovation-oriented. Specifically, external innovations are highly correlated with internal innovations. Moreover, a knowledge culture supports a learning culture via a learning climate. A learning climate is an important facilitator for learning from mistakes. Originality/value This study revealed that a high level of mistake acceptance stimulates a risk-taking attitude that offers a high level of tacit knowledge awareness as a result of critical thinking, but critical thinking without readiness to take a risk is useless for tacit knowledge capturing.


2007 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 823-832 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Vahidnia ◽  
G.B. van der Voet ◽  
F.A. de Wolff

Arsenic (As) is one of the oldest poisons known to men. Its applications throughout history are wide and varied: murder, make-up, paint and even as a pesticide. Chronic As toxicity is a global environmental health problem, affecting millions of people in the USA and Germany to Bangladesh and Taiwan. Worldwide, As is released into the environment by smelting of various metals, combustion of fossil fuels, as herbicides and fungicides in agricultural products. The drinking water in many countries, which is tapped from natural geological resources, is also contaminated as a result of the high level of As in groundwater. The environmental fate of As is contamination of surface and groundwater with a contaminant level higher than 10 particle per billion (ppb) as set by World Health Organization (WHO). Arsenic exists in both organic and inorganic species and either form can also exist in a trivalent or pentavalent oxidation state. Long-term health effects of exposure to these As metabolites are severe and highly variable: skin and lung cancer, neurological effects, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Neurological effects of As may develop within a few hours after ingestion, but usually are seen in 2—8 weeks after exposure. It is usually a symmetrical sensorimotor neuropathy, often resembling the Guillain—Barré syndrome. The predominant clinical features of neuropathy are paresthesias, numbness and pain, particularly in the soles of the feet. Electrophysiological studies performed on patients with As neuropathy have revealed a reduced nerve conduction velocity, typical of those seen in axonal degeneration. Most of the adverse effects of As, are caused by inactivated enzymes in the cellular energy pathway, whereby As reacts with the thiol groups of proteins and enzymes and inhibits their catalytic activity. Furthermore, As-induced neurotoxicity, like many other neurodegenerative diseases, causes changes in cytoskeletal protein composition and hyperphosphorylation. These changes may lead to disorganization of the cytoskeletal framework, which is a potential mechanism of As-induced neurotoxicity. Human & Experimental Toxicology (2007) 26, 823— 832


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